Nicola Roberts has teased the reason behind close friend Cheryl's split from One Direction star Liam Payne. The stars, who are proud parents to one-year-old baby Bear, confirmed their separation on Sunday night with their Twitter followers. Appearing on Thursday's Loose Women, Nicola was asked to comment on how the former X Factor judge was doing following the surprising news. "She's good, she's good. She's on the mend," the Girls Aloud singer told the panel.

Liam and Cheryl announced their split on Sunday

Elaborating further, Nicola added: "I actually think what's been interesting this week is how the misogyny through the media has been played out. 'Oh why can't she hold a man down' and stuff like that, but why can't a man hold her down? But she's good." Both Cheryl and Liam took to social media to post the same message, in which they revealed the end of their two and a half year relationship. "We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways," the message read. "It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together."

It has since been confirmed that the couple went their separate ways more than two weeks ago. A source close to the couple told HELLO!: "Liam and Cheryl are living separately and have been for a couple of weeks now. There was genuine love between them, so this is hard. They care a lot for each other and want to be there for their child, so they are focussed on making sure they remain close." Cheryl, 35, and Liam, 24, first met on The X Factor in 2008, when she was a judge and he auditioned as a contestant when he was 14. They welcomed their son in March last year after confirming their romance in 2016.

Shortly after the split announcement, Cheryl was quick to dismiss the reports which suggest her mother played a part in the couple's break-up. "I hate responding to stuff esp [sic] at such difficult times but I cannot sit here and listen to such nasty, false articles regarding my mam," she tweeted. "I don't know why they involve her in stories about me. I can assure you she has absolutely nothing to do with any of it. I am a grown woman who is capable of dealing with my own life. She is a soft and kind woman who doesn't deserve to be dragged into something that has nothing whatsoever to do with her."

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